1) The document discusses the student's experience producing a music video for their A-Level Media Studies coursework project. 2) The student worked in a group to film over 2-3 days using two cameras, and learned how to properly handle equipment and ensure good footage. 3) In post-production, the student edited the video together on Adobe Premiere and added special effects inspired by other music videos, while also creating promotional materials like a website and album cover.

1. media technologies in
the construction of
research, planning
and evaluation
stages?

2. • Media theorist Bentley once said: "The making of the
new and the rearranging of the old”. Reflecting this
quote, to some extent digital technology does turn media
consumers into media producers because it enables
them to consume current media products via cross-
media. This is known as ‘we media’ utilizing technology
institutions’ target audience to create and apply their
imagination instantly.
•
• As an A-Level Media Studies student, I have become
more exposed to the technology spectrum that one can
access and become part of this interactive and online
community where it is negotiated and circular.
•

3. •
• Therefore, for my main coursework project, the music
video is an example of independent production as a
media consumer. I worked in a group of three and as we
have been newly introduced to new and advanced
technology at AS level we shared a primary objective to
focus on achieving advanced effects as an aspiring
professional team.
•

4. • As our team filmed over the course of 2-3 days, I
became more proficient at handling the camera and
organising the necessary equipment on demand.
• I worked in the same group as my AS coursework
project, which benefited us to share the same
motivational work ethic as an ensemble.
•

5. • We used two cameras: one Canon HD camera and a
SLR camera. Unfortunately, one was of higher quality
than the other which we eventually became acquainted
to, yet the SLR camera’s wide angle lense allowed me to
increase the shot-size and space of the setting and
multiple characters. Using the shooting schedule during
filming, I successfully set up equipment such as the
tripod and wire cables as well as the white-balance on
the camera to ensure the best results.

6. • I constantly updated my progress blog on
‘Blogger’, which helped me document my thoughts and
development from the pre-production stage all the way
to the end. Using social media networks on our mobile
phones helped us update our peers and even ourselves
in our created online group where we shared and
expressed our ideas when not together.

7. • During the production process, the benefit of using two
cameras for filming gave us the opportunity to increase a
variety of angles, shot-types, change of footage and
double set-up to achieve the best outcome possible.
Applying the same transitions made it more expert and
slick, achieving a ‘less is more’ impact.

9. • Filming from a birds eye view and extreme close
ups, allowed us to play with the different spaces
available. Having a more matured perspective, I
incorporated stop motion and photographic animation
using a Canon EOS 110D camera to constantly take
individual pictures which I uploaded to Photo-edit on my
Mac computer in order to produce a more avant-garde
effect that suits the indie-genre having researched other
music videos like Sia’s ‘Breathe Me’ and Oren Lavie’s
‘Her morning elegance’.

10. Sia- Breathe Me

11. Oren Lavie- Her Morning Elegance

12. • The chosen song: Five Years Time by Noah and the
Whale is a indie/hipster song which permitted me to
have more freedom with including many characters and
once collating all the required footage, I could freely
build more structure and a hipster styled sequence.

13. • For instance, I incorporated silhouettes and casting
shadows using redhead lights and soft light gels, which
was inspired by avant-garde cinema films like Un Chien
Andalou to create a vintage effect. I wanted to achieve
image manipulation yet steering away from airbrushing
and image perfection, as it was vital to create a sense of
verisimilitude throughout our video.

14. • In the post-production process, I found it challenging to
compliment the lip-synching of the song’s lyrics with the
exact timing of the song on Adobe Premiere. Therefore,
using software programmes like Garage Band, YouTube
converter and Sound cloud, they facilitated me
throughout the editing process.

15. • During the post-production process, it was important to
focus on adjusting colour controls with a vivid palette
creating a summer/hippy-like feel.
• Once uploading the final video onto YouTube, I felt that
the quality appeared weaker than on the Adobe
Premiere screens yet it was successfully transmitted via
my USB memory stick.
•

16. • I used my USB frequently during the editing process to
save photography and any other extra shots that would
be sufficient to use. When designing my ancillary tasks,
the Digipak cover and website homepage which
promotes the band, Noah and the Whale- it was at times
difficult to transform my chosen images using Corel-
Photo paint as I felt overwhelmed by the variety of
options etc.

18. • Wix, the website homepage software is particularly good
to find a suitable template so I could experiment with
format and presentational devices, yet at times I felt I
could have reconsidered the layout. For example, the
homepage is simple yet effective, however I doubted
that it may lack important details, which is where I could
have improved in order to achieve a more expert-like
product.

19. • Overall, the basic key concepts of Media Studies
including: camerawork, lighting, editing and mise-en-
scene were very much developed. I have gained a more
diverse and creative approach and have ultimately learnt
more about potential filming issues, public locations and
editing software over the course of 2 years. Whilst
evaluating my work, this was the first opportunity to
experiment with a challenging and alternative music
genre.